Severstal Cherepovets jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead today and never looked back as they defeated Lada Togliatti 4-1 in the season opener. Lightning prospect Alexander Polushin assisted on a Sergei Soin power play goal to cap the scoring for Cherepovets.

Last night marked the opening of the Traverse City Prospect Tournament and today marks the beginning of the European hockey season as the Russian Superleague kicks off it's regular season schedule. Bolt Prospects will update scores as they become available.
Avangard Omsk defeated Novosibirsk 4-3 today in overtime. Lightning left wing prospect Nikita Alexeev scored Omsk's second goal in the victory.
In other news, winger Alexei Glukhov has rejoined the Khimik organization and had 2 penalty minutes in the team's opening 5-2 loss to Novokuznetsk.

Lightning Head Scout Jake Goertzen, fresh off watching his prospects dismantle Atlantaâ€™s prospects 5-3 Tuesday night, said 2005 first round pick Vladimir Mihalik looked â€œimpressiveâ€ with his Tampa Bay teammates. Goertzen complimented Mihalikâ€™s skating ability, decision making, and heavy shot. â€œHe played with a lot of poise,â€ said Goertzen of the 6â€™8 Â½â€, 234 pound Slovakian defenseman.
Goertzen also singled out the play of 2005 pick Marek Kvapil, saying he â€œattracted a lot of attention with his nifty moves.â€ Kvapil, who opened the scoring for Tampa Bay against Atlanta, was signed this summer after being a sixth round selection in Julyâ€™s NHL Entry Draft. A 25 goal scorer last season for OHL Saginaw, Kvapil could provide offense to Springfield and/or Johnstown this season.

Sweden shut out Finland 2-0 today to complete a three game sweep of their round robin and claim the Ceske Pojistovna Cup. Lightning defenseman prospect Andreas Holmqvist once again played on the first pairing with veteran Kenny Jonsson while Jimmie Olvestad's line was moved up from third to second line duty.
Finishing second on the table was Russia, which finished out their tournament by defeating the Czech Republic 2-1. Russia scored two goals late in the third period including one by former Lightning winger Alexander Kharitonov to steal the win away in front of a hostile pro-Czech home crowd.

Winger Jimmie Olvestad scored a goal and an assist as Sweden toppled the Czech Republic 5-3. Once again, Lightning prospect Andreas Holmqvist played on Sweden's first pairing with veteran Kenny Jonsson.
And, in the early game, Russia defeated Finland 4-1. Anton But assumed playing time on Russia's second line and former Lightning player Alexander Kharitonov chipped in an assist in the victory.

Novosibirsk defeated Avangard Omsk 3-2 Thursday to claim victory in the Blinov Memorial Tournament. Disappointingly, Lightning prospect Nikita Alexeev failed to score in four games for Omsk. The left wing accrued four penalty minutes on the tournament but continued his scoresheet futility. In the last two tournaments Alexeev has just a mere one assist in eight games.

Alexander Polushin's red hot preseason cooled a bit before Cherepovets' fans as he was held scoreless in the team's third tournament of the preseason. Severstal finished 2-1 for the tournament, which spanned Monday through Wednesday, losing the opener of the tournament to SKA St. Petersburg 2-1 before rebounding to defeat CSKA 4-2 and Yaroslavl 2-1. Despite not hitting the scoresheet in this tournament, Polushin remains tied for second amongst all Cherepovets scorers in the preseason with 7 points. He is currently tied with veteran Alexander Gulyavtsev and Detroit Red Wings prospect Igor Grigorienko behind his linemate and Calgary Flames prospect Yuri Trubachev who has 10 points in the three tournaments.
Lightning prospect Anton But missed the tournament for Yaroslavl in order to prepare with the national team for the Ceske Pojistovna Cup.

In the opening game of the Ceske Pojistovna Cup, Sweden defeated Russia 2-1 on a 3rd period goal by Mikka Hannula scored with 32 seconds left in regulation. Neither Anton But nor Andreas Holmqvist made the scoresheet for their respective sides. As expected, But played on Russia's 2nd line with his Yaroslavl teammates Ivan Neprayev and Ivan Tkachenko. Holmqvist held down first pairing duties along side long time New York Islander Kenny Jonsson. Jimmie Olvestad played on the third line for Sweden as well.
In the late game Czech Republic defeated Finland 2-1 on penalty shots.